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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the cage in the basement made out of?

2. What is the name of the man whom Beck is casually dating?

3. What does Joe leave alongside Benji's remains?

4. What does Beck give to Joe as a thank you for helping her off the tracks?

5. What is the name of the bookshop's other employee?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Joe do to Benji?

2. Why did Mr. Mooney punish Joe? How did he punish him?

3. Who interrupts Joe and Beck as they are assembling her bed? What is the outcome of this interruption?

4. What is the "cage," and where is it located?

5. What enables Joe to monitor Beck's communications with others?

6. Who is Candace and what does the reader know about her?

7. What special gift does Beck give Joe? Why?

8. Who is Spencer Hewitt? What is significant about him?

9. On what surprising topic does Joe quiz Benji? What are the results?

10. What is the significance of the red ladle?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think the future has in store for Joe after the close of the novel? Predict the future for Joe based on his thoughts and actions throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story by using a second-person point of view. How does viewing the second-person viewpoint affect the story? How would the book be different if the story was told through third-person narration?

Essay Topic 3

Books are very important to the story. Discuss how characters like Joe, Beck, Mr. Mooney, and Peach view books. What point do you think the author is trying to make regarding the importance of books?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 789 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample